Persistence
by Burai Stelar
Summary: Kushina should have died that night...she knew it. But a change in her fate left her to care for her child alone, with only her friends to help her. And once her son manages to graduate from the Academy, it becomes time for the Hot-Blooded Habanero to take a position that was meant for another, and beat down any enemy ninja that stand in her way. Whether they like it or not. A/U.
1. Chapter 1

**Adding yet _another _project on my list...yay(?) At any rate, I'm starting this one, so I hope you all enjoy it. *crosses fingers***

**Oh! And I don't own Naruto! That right belongs to Masashi Kishimoto.**

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><p>Kushina was pissed…but at the same time exhausted.<p>

Of course giving birth, and having the Kyuubi taken from you, would do that to anybody if they didn't straight up die afterward. Just a perk of being an Uzumaki she supposed.

The redhead could hear Naruto sleeping, just right beside her. He was so adorable, what with his baby fat, his whisker marks and his small head of hair. She was slightly peeved that his hair was blond…it was such a generic hair color...why couldn't it have been red?

After just a few moments there was a brief silence, followed by the Kyuubi just _appearing _in their general location with Minato, who was breathing heavily. He was clearly exhausted from all of the things he'd been doing.

"It took a lot of my remaining chakra, but I managed to get a barrier around the Kyuubi," her husband told her while breathing heavy.

Said Bijuu was currently ramming itself into the barrier, small cracks starting to appear on the surface.

"Minato, you went too far!" she chided. "I could have made the barrier."

Her life partner simply looked at her and the baby in his arms, "Kushina, you look like you're about to drop dead if you use any of your chakra right now."

"That doesn't matter, I can still use my chains! I'll seal the Kyuubi back inside me, and then kill myself…that way I can prevent its resurrection."

Minato simply shook his head at her proposal...it just seemed so...Kushina, "Kushina, you made me the Yondaime Hokage! You made me a man, and a father! Yet, you'd…" his voice cracked with emotion.

Kushina stood up and reaffirmed her will, "Minato…don't look at me like that, I'm happy. You…you love me…and it's our son's birthday. Most importantly, when I think about what our life would be like together…if I lived, I can only picture happiness."

She could see Minato's tears, though he fought hard to keep them from falling. At least, he'd be able to grow up with their son this way.

"If there's one thing I regret," she continued, "it's that I won't get to see Naruto grow up."

The sound of the Kyuubi continually slamming into Minato's barrier broke the sentimental moment, and reminded the parents of the situation at hand. Naruto started to cry, as if he knew he was going to lose a parent soon.

Minato wiped his tears away and looked right at Kushina, "There's no need for you to die with the Kyuubi."

Kushina looked at him confused by what he said…what exactly did he mean by that?

"I'll seal your remaining chakra inside Naruto with a Hakke Fuin. Then I will take the Kyuubi down with me. Since I'm not a jinchuriki, I can use the Shiki Fujin!" he told her while he rocked Naruto back to sleep.

Kushina's eyes widened in shock, "But with that seal you'll-!"

Minato cut her off, "There's one more thing. I can only seal half the Kyuubi's power. It's just not physically possible for me to seal it completely…it's not smart either. If you take the Kyuubi with you, there won't be a jinchuriki for it until it reforms, and the balance between Bijuu will be thrown out of whack."

The redhead blinked. She hadn't thought about that…if the Kyuubi reformed and there wasn't someone to seal it in, there was no telling what kind of destruction it could wreak.

"With Shiki Fujin," he continued. "I can seal half the Kyuubi's power forever and the other half…" Minato paused for a moment as he looked at the baby in his arm. He bit his lip and then continued, "I will seal within Naruto with the Hakke Fuin!"

As if it was even possible, Kushina's eyes widened futher. He was planning on making their baby boy a jinchuriki?! That wasn't the kind of life Kushina wanted for her son!

"I know what you want to say, but Jiraiya-sensei talked about a coming revolution and the catastrophes that'll come with it!" Minato told her. "Today, I realized two things. The masked man that attacked you…he'll bring the catastrophe! And our son is the one who will stop him. As the Kyuubi's jinchuriki, he will clear the way to the future…I just know it."

He began going through the handsigns for the Shiki Fujin, as Kushina looked on.

"But...Minato…"

"Have faith in this child!" Minato interrupted as he summoned the Shinigami. "After all, he is our son!"

The two argued, back and forth about the entire thing. Kushina didn't want her son to bear the burden of being a jinchuriki, but Minato was resolute. Nothing she said was changing his mind.

"Seal," Minato commanded after he summoned a shrine to place Naruto on.

Kushina couldn't see the Shinigami, but she could see the Kyuubi shrink to half its size. She could also see the seal that appeared on Minato's stomach as he stood paralyzed. Before anything else could happen, she fell to her knees when her leg muscles failed to continue holding her up.

"Kushina!" Minato shouted as he knelt next to her.

It was then that the worst decided to show its face.

The Kyuubi finally managed to make a space in the barrier big enough for its arm and then attempted to shove its claw through Naruto.

Kushina saw this and attempted to jump in front of it to stop the impalement. Just before the claw could run through her, she felt a tug, as if a massive hand wrapped itself around her body. Faster than she could comprehend in her current state, she found herself with the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

'When did he get here?' she thought as she looked around. Very quickly, she found herself looking at her husband impaled by the Kyuubi's claw, along with a teen with grey hair. There was only one person she knew of with grey hair, Kakashi. Substitution was the thing that immediately came to her mind. It was clear that both he and Minato together had managed to stop the claw from piercing Naruto.

The exhaustion she had been fighting back now came to her in full force. Her limbs grew heavier, and her eyelids were slowly closing no matter how much she fought to keep her eyes open. Kushina wanted to see this through to the end.

'Minato…Naruto…Kakashi,' were her last thoughts before everything went dark.

XxX

White, bright light. That was what greeted Kushina when her eyes opened. The redhead squinted and moved an arm to shield her face. She waited for her eyes to properly adjust before she surveyed the room she was in.

It was a dull white, the florescent light only amplifying the dullness of the color. A constant beeping sound alerted her to a machine on her right, with wires from it leading to her body. Wait…her body?

Ah hell. She was in the hospital. With a heart monitor steadily reminded her that she was alive. Well, as long as there wasn't a needle in her body or something she was fine.

Kushina moved her other arm, but something felt off about it…like there was something in it. She turned her head, almost robotically, to see her left arm…with a needle in it.

Almost immediately, she felt sweat beginning to form on her brow as her heart started beating faster. She began to hyperventilate, and her arms began to shake. Facing the Kyuubi? It had nothing on this. She'd rather face twelve copies of the Kyuubi than look at the needle that was currently IN HER ARM!

Gathering herself as much as she could in the midst of her panic attack, she did the only logical thing…

"Someone help! There's a needle in my arm, -ttebane!"

..She yelled.

Soon after, a doctor and three nurses came rushing into the room. The redhead would normally feel shame about something like this, but at the moment she didn't care. She just wanted the thing out of her arm.

"Take it out! Take it out!" she commanded while she attempted to calm herself.

Two nurses held her down, while the third calmly took the needle out of her arm. Once it was removed, the doctor placed a hand on her shoulder and look her in the eyes.

"Easy, easy…the needle's out now okay?" Once Kushina nodded he continued. "Okay, now deep breaths…in and out…in and out."

She did as he commanded, and tried to take in as much oxygen as possible into her lungs before breathing it out. She repeated the process several times before she began to feel calm. Her heart rate slowed down to normal levels, and she stopped shaking.

"Are you good now?"

The redhead nodded, "Yeah doc…I'm fine now."

"Good," he replied. "Do you need anything?"

"Yeah, actually. How long was I out?"

"Sandaime-sama brought you in here right after the Kyuubi attack two days ago."

Kushina blinked, "So I've been out for a good long while."

"Yes. You were near death when he brought you here. I'm honestly surprised that you're alive."

"Why's that?"

"Let's see. You had a bijuu extracted from you, and your chakra was so low that if you had used any jutsu or those chains of yours, you would have died. Honestly I'm surprised you survived at all," he told her while he looked at the clipboard he got from her bed.

"Oh…" So if she had set up the barrier with her chains, she would have died. "…Wait…did the Sandaime also have a blond baby with him?"

"Yes, he had us perform some check-ups on the boy before he took him to his tower…I believe."

"Good. Then I've got to get over there!" she said.

Yanking the wires away from her body, she attempted to stand. Turned out to be very hard when she couldn't even get out of the bed. Not letting that little fact get in her way, she managed to get her legs off the stiff mattress and pushed herself from the rest of the bed.

"No! Stay in bed!"

Naturally she ignored the doctor's orders and let her feet touch the ground. Slowly, but surely, the redhead managed to stand up, bringing a smile to her face.

"Now to get my son, -ttebane!" she shouted as she began walking on wobbly legs.

"But you're still in a hospital gown," one of the nurses protested. "Plus you still haven't fully recovered!"

"I know when I'm recovered enough!" Kushina stated as she was leaving her room. She didn't get far. She didn't even make it past the doorway when her legs gave out, sending her falling to the floor. "I'm not recovered enough!"

"Kushina? What are you doing on the floor?"

Said woman looked up to see a head of hair that she was quite familiar with.

"Mikoto-chan! Help me up!"

Mikoto Uchiha, a fair-skinned woman with long, black hair. Bangs roughly framed the sides of her face, and she wore brown blouse, a dark purple skirt with blue shinobi sandals. Most villagers called her the most beautiful woman to come from the Uchiha clan. Many enemies called her danger to be around on the battlefield. She was a loving wife to the head of the clan. Kushina called her the bestest friend ever in the whole world, though.

"So why are you on the floor?" Mikoto asked as she helped her friend up.

"Oh, I was about to leave the hospital to go to the Hokage Tower."

"Why? You should be in bed. Resting. For several weeks."

"Rest is for the weak! Plus the Sandaime is holding my boy hostage, -ttebane!" Kushina told her, a wide grin on her face.

"Really?" the Uchiha asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh yeah," the redhead replied. "He can't give my child the love that only a mother can give. So Naruto is definitely a hostage."

"Oh well we can't have that," Mikoto said. "How about I get him back from Sandaime-sama while you recover here?"

"Excellent! He's at the Hokage tower," Kushina informed as Mikoto helped her back into bed, the doctor and the nurses long gone.

"I'll get him and come right back," Mikoto promised.

XxX

The clock ticked.

Kushina blinked.

The clock ticked again.

Kushina blinked again.

She'd been staring at the clock in her hospital room for a solid 10 minutes. It, of course, felt like an hour to the redhead. Every second that ticked on the clock was another minute that she didn't have her son. Damn it, where was Mikoto? She said she'd be right back!

Heck if she used the Shunshin, she would have gotten back in less than half the time. But then came the problem…Kushina didn't know if Mikoto knew Shunshin…ah, she probably did. Kushina could trust the woman, she was her best friend after all.

A single knock interrupted her thoughts, with another getting her attention to the door.

"Come in," she told her visitor as she fixed her hair.

Let it be known that even with her personality, Kushina was still a woman and she cared for her appearance.

"Ah, Kushina. It's wonderful to see you up, yet not about," a voice, wizened with age told her.

A man with whitening hair walked in. He wore the Hokage robe and hat, which hid the wrinkles that were starting to show up. Despite his aged appearance, he was powerful and any shinobi worth their money in the Bingo Book could recognize him. His name was Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Sandaime Hokage.

"Sandaime-sama,"she greeted, "and where is my child?"

The man walked over to her and handed her a bundle that had a hole for a face, one she recognized as her own son's. He was currently asleep, and if Kushina paid attention she could hear his breathing.

She spoke in a hushed tone, "He's so adorable, -ttebane."

"That he is. That he is. …Now, I assume you want to know what's happened while you were out."

"Straight to the point huh? Sure," she answered as she rocked her baby.

"I've decided to re-take the Hokage seat."

Kushina looked up, "But you're getting old."

The man laughed, "Would you like to take the seat then, Kushina?"

"After seeing the paperwork Minato had to do?" Kushina smiled. "Hell no."

Seeing the old man fight the laugh that would have, no doubt, woken the sleeping Naruto made Kushina feel good. It was nice to know that even after nearly dying, she was still awesome.

"And here I thought I was done with this job," he sighed. "Continuing on, Konoha is already rebuilding from the Kyuubi attack, the elders want answers, and the villagers want to know what happened to the Kyuubi…and poor Minato-kun."

With that said, Kushina was starting to remember the fact that Minato was now dead, along with…Kakashi. Wait a second, Kakashi!

"What happened to Kakashi!?"

"It appears he managed to sneak away from his peers after being evacuated away from the village."

Kushina blinked, "How?"

"From the reports given to me, it appears that Kakashi asked permission to take care of his business."

"You mean pee," the red head cut in.

A pregnant silence followed for a while before any of them spoke again. Clearing his throat, the Sandaime continued.

"He sent a clone in his place, and came to the Kyuubi's location, where he substituted with you just before the claw impaled you. Minato-kun sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto just before he and his pupil died."

"…I see."

It took a lot of willpower to stop her arms from shaking. The man began to walk out of the room as he took his pipe out.

"I'll leave you to your devices, Kushina."

It was only when the Sandaime left, and Kushina made sure she was alone with her baby before she started crying.

XxX

Kushina hated the sun. With a passion.

Honestly, to have the nerve to stay constantly shining during the entirety of Minato's, and Kakashi's, funeral. Where was the rain? The gloom that should have been around more, but wasn't because the sun was shining?

Now Kushina was here with her son as people left, sadness radiating from everyone. None of which surpassed Kushina's own sadness. Even several minutes after everyone had left, tears still streamed down her face. She walked towards the memorial stone where her husband's newly carved name lay.

"Damn it Minato…You didn't have to die," she started. "You could have just let me seal the Kyuubi and die. Then you'd have been able to watch as the little boy that you and I graced the world with grew up into savior you believed he is."

Kushina let out a humorless laugh as she remembered her time in the hospital.

"You know, I'm the first jinchuriki on record to ever survive extraction of their Bijuu, though I still have my seal…it's weird. When I'm not out walking or shopping for food, the staff at the hospital monitor everything going on in my body. I've still got more chakra than the Sandaime, but it's still not as large as I'm used to having. The doctor's say that if I continue my career, I could possibly get my reserves back to what it was before the extraction…but I don't know if I want to. Continue my career that is.

"I know you're probably angry at me for saying that, but just hear me out. I've lost a village, I don't know if my clan is still around. I nearly lost another home, but most importantly…I lost the love of my life. Minato, how am I supposed to live without you?! You taught me to love my hair, allowed me to fight alongside you during the war and you helped me become the woman I am today. The only thing I have now is our son, and the home that you bought for our family.

"Then again…our son won't have an easy life. He'll probably be hated, and targeted by other villages, so he'll need someone to protect him. And I can't trust any shinobi here to do that correctly, so…I guess I'll have to do it!" she clenched a fist and tapped it to the memorial stone. "I promise you Minato…I'll become the most badass kunoichi in the village and keep my son safe. No matter what!"

Kushina's ears picked up the sound of footsteps and turned to see a boy wearing a green full body jumpsuit and orange leg warmers. Normally Kushina would laugh at his ridiculous bowl cut, but today seeing the boy mourning like her, she couldn't. Maito Gai had lost his father to the Seven Swordsman of the Mist, and now Kakashi to the Kyuubi. She was a little upset that he interrupted her alone time with Minato, but that could be forgiven given the circumstance.

Gai knelt, and placed flowers near the stone. As he spoke, Kushina realized that she hadn't spoken to Kakashi yet. But what could she say? 'Thank you for saving my and my son's lives, sorry for you needed to get impaled to do it?' That wouldn't do. It wouldn't do at all. Kakashi had a long life ahead of him, and he traded it away to let his sensei's son have a living family member.

"Gai, Kakashi wouldn't want you to cry over his death," she told him. "He'd want you to celebrate how youthful he went out."

Gai looked at her, the tears still streaming down his face, "Kakashi went out…youthfully?"

"Mmhmm," she affirmed. "He protected the next generation most youthfully. He placed himself in front of the Kyuubi's claw to save one of Konoha's future shinobi. Before his death, Minato said that this boy would bring about change to the shinobi world. I guess Kakashi saw that in Naruto too."

Kushina motioned to Naruto, who captured Gai's attention immediately. The redhead could see the sadness that previously occupied Gai's eyes fade away, replaced with a sort of determination.

"Yosh! This baby is Kakashi's legacy, and I will do ALL I can to keep him safe!" the boy exclaimed.

The redhead leveled a glare at him, "He's not just Kakashi's legacy. He's Minato's legacy."

Gai blinked, "You mean?"

She nodded, "Mhhm. He's the son of our late Yondaime Hokage. I can personally attest to it."

Kushina then began walking away as a dumbstruck Gai watched her leave. With every step she took, Kushina felt a weight leave her shoulders. She wouldn't, couldn't, forget the sacrifice that her husband and Kakashi made, but now she felt she could rest easier…hopefully.

'Kakashi…thank you for letting me grow up with my child.'

XxX

It was just a few hours later when ANBU showed themselves at her home. Luckily, she had already breastfed Naruto, so no embarrassing happenings there. But really, they could have knocked before entering her home as it was common courtesy.

A man wearing an otter mask told her that she was expected to meet with the Hokage and council in the Hokage's office. After telling them she'd get there, they left her to her devices.

Now, with Naruto in tow, she made her way to the tower wondering what the council wanted to see her for. Making her way up the tower, she knocked on the door.

"Enter."

Given permission, Kushina let herself in to see the Sandaime and his council. Besides seeing the Hokage, she saw Koharu, a grey-haired elderly woman wearing a long kimono, Homura, an elderly man wearing robes similar to the Hokage with glasses and Danzo, an elder with a half-bandaged face and an X shaped scar on his chin.

"Good," Danzo started, "you brought the jinchuriki."

Kushina narrowed her eyes in his direction, "Minato and I didn't spend several days in bed to have our son be an object. He has a name, –ttebane."

"And what, pray tell, is the child's name?" the man asked.

"His name is Naruto," she replied. Something about Danzo had rubbed Minato the wrong way during his tenure as Hokage, so she made a mental note to keep an eye on him. "So what am I here for Sandaime-sama?"

The man took out his pipe before speaking, "We wish to know what happened the night of the Kyuubi attack."

She blinked, "Do you want all the details?"

"All that you can remember," the Sandaime affirmed.

"Well alright then," Kushina replied, with a smile that most definitely did not promise verbal evil. "It all started as I began giving birth to Naruto…"

XxX

"…then, the masked man managed to get the Kyuubi out of my weakened seal."

"And how, pray tell, did the man do that?" Homura asked as he composed himself from Kushina's _very _descriptive tale.

Kushina blinked, "I don't know. He just stared at my seal and said, 'Come, Kyuubi.' Then the guy came out."

"Can you remember anything defining about him?" the Sandaime asked.

The redhead sighed and searched her memory, "I think I saw a Sharingan in his right eye socket."

"A Sharingan?" Danzo muttered. "So it was an Uchiha who attacked the village."

"Pardon me Danzo," the Sandaime started as he glanced at him, "but the man's face was covered, and he wore a cloak. Why immediately jump to the Uchiha being the ones behind the attack, just because he had the Sharingan? For all we know, this man could have easily killed an Uchiha during the war implanted it on his own person."

"We cannot rule out the possibility, _Hiruzen_."

The Sandaime put his pipe to his mouth, and sighed, "We shall discuss this at a later time. You all may leave. Kushina, please stay."

As the elders left the room, Kushina relaxed. They always put her on edge.

"Do you have any questions before I speak to the villagers?" he asked.

"Yeah, I do actually. My seal is still on me, and I want to know why. I thought that the seal would disappear once the thing being held back was gone?"

"I have an answer for that one. During the Kyuubi's rampage, it left a concentrated amount of chakra in the village. I managed to seal that leftover chakra into you, while managing to reapply your seal. I have reason to believe that that, coupled with your Uzumaki vitality, is the reason you are standing here today."

"…So…I'm still a jinchuriki."

"I believe the term 'pseudo-jinchuriki' would be the proper term," he told her.

"…Still a jinchuriki," she replied. Either way, she still had Bijuu chakra in her. There was no need to differentiate. "I also have a request…if you don't mind Hokage-sama."

"What is it Kushina?"

"When you talk to the villagers…tell them who Naruto's father is."

The silence in the room was palpable. The Sandaime looked at her like she had grown a second head.

"Kushina do you realize what you're asking me to do? Iwa would come for him once he became a shinobi. And a simple genin, jinchuriki or not, would not fare well against a team of jounin."

"I don't care about Iwa. They can suck it. People die during war, they're just being childish. So what if Minato killed like…hundreds or thousands? I guarantee you that the Shodaime, Nidaime and yourself killed more than that in your lifetimes."

"While that is true, there is the fact that Iwa shinobi would still attack him without cause if they should encounter him."

"Then let me become his sensei once he becomes a genin!" she yelled, letting her feelings overcome her rather quickly. "There's nobody better to do so than someone who knows what he's going to go through!"

"Kushina, calm down," he commanded, his voice full of authority. "You're letting your emotions get the better of you."

Kushina took a deep breath, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

"Good. Now, I will consider your suggestion to be his sensei, but won't you be a bit bias once it comes time?"

The redhead simply shook her head, "You have my word as an Uzumaki that I will not be bias once the time comes."

"…I'm having trouble believing you right now now. But we'll see."

Kushina beamed, "Thank you, Hokage-sama."

"Now…let's get the villagers up to date."

XxX

As it turned out, getting the villagers up to date involved 20 minutes of telling them of Konoha's rebuilding process, and how the economy was going to be affected as a result. It was really boring.

"Now, for the news I'm sure you have all been waiting for. Yes, our beloved Yondaime Hokage is dead. We all went to his funeral, so this should be common knowledge. But you don't know how he died, or at least you shouldn't. He died after being impaled by the Kyuubi's claw, but not before he sealed it in a baby." It was at this point that the Sandaime raised baby Naruto into the air, to be viewed by all. "The baby that he and Kushina Uzumaki made with all their love and affection. I present to you, Naruto Uzumaki! The son of the Yondaime, and jinchuriki of the Kyuubi!"

Kushina's heart soared once she heard the last three sentences. Hopefully, this was the start of a bright future.

* * *

><p><strong>And we end on a hopeful note. Boom. Mission accomplished.<strong>

**I originally wanted to post this tomorrow (October 10) to give Naruto a nice little birthday present, but I don't know if I'll have the time tomorrow. So you guys got this early. Love it. Love it with all your heart.  
><strong>

**Of course, I've been working on the second chapter for a while so that stalled the editing for this one. Expect that up eventually...I hate how short my chapter are...meh. I'll hopefully find a way to overcome that.**

**Happy birthday Naruto Uzumaki! You know...tomorrow...**


	2. Chapter 2

**Got this one done in an okay time. Hope you guys enjoy! I haven't broken the 4-5k boundary yet. YET. It will happen though. So sit tight for that.  
><strong>

**Sadly, it is too late to try and convince Kishi to hand over the rights to Naruto. So I don't own Naruto.**

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><p><em>6 years later<em>

"_Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu_!"

Kushina dodged the stream of fire that Mikoto sent her way, managing to avoid the attack by several inches. Ignoring the scorched grass left in the wake of the jutsu, the redhead surveyed the area, looking for her opponent.

The sound of rustling leaves alerted her too late, as Mikoto's drop kick managed to land squarely on her back. Kushina went up in smoke with an audible 'pop', and the Uchiha cursed.

"Another clone."

Counting this one, it was the 9th clone to go down in this spar. It was really getting annoying having to take down several clones just to find the real one. Hearing the sounds of footsteps Mikoto turned to see three jounin uniform clad Kushinas running towards her.

Mikoto channeled a small, miniscule amount of chakra to her eyes and they changed to a red color with three black tomoe surrounding a black pupil. A fully matured Sharingan. To her the three redheads in front of her seemed to slow down, not that they were moving too fast to begin with. She just loved using her Sharingan.

"I'll see every move before you make it Kushina!" she playfully mocked before the three attacked her.

Mikoto ducked underneath one of the clone's punches and retaliated with an elbow strike to the chin. Not even watching to make sure the clone dispelled, she moved her attention to another clone that had been preparing seals. Of which kind, Mikoto didn't want to find out. Pulling shuriken from a pouch near her waist, the Uchiha jumped back to avoid several chains that the other Kushina had created to attack her.

She threw the shuriken as a distraction and went through handseals for one of her favored jutsu. As she breathed in and prepared the correct amount of chakra to use, she brought a hand to her mouth.

"_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu_!"

The chakra she had prepared mixed with her breath as it left her mouth, making a volley of fireballs that shot towards the two remaining redheads. The one not drawing up the seal moved in front of the one that was and went through three handseals. Placing a hand to her mouth she shot out a large let of water to intercept the fireballs.

"_Suiton: Mizurappa_!"

The water hit the fireballs, causing them to be put out, before continuing onwards toward Mikoto. Simply replacing herself with a log, the Uchiha avoided the attack and began rushing towards the two. Taking out a kunai, she deflected the handful of shuriken that one of the two had thrown at her. Using the same kunai, she jammed it into the spine of one clone and smoothly kicked the other with her heel.

Her Sharingan, still active, managed to catch the smile of the clone she kicked just before it popped. As she briefly wondered why the clone smiled, she turned her Sharingan off. This proved to be her mistake. Chains made of chakra burst from the ground underneath her and bound her arms to her body as they wrapped around her.

"My my Mikoto-chan. You thought the three I sent after you were all clones?" Kushina asked as she picked herself up from the ground. She made several 'tsk' sounds as she walked over to her imprisoned friend. "Big, big mistake. You do pack quite the elbow though."

Realization dawned on the Uchiha's face as she remembered that she didn't hear the tell-tale pop that came when a Kage Bunshin was defeated after delivering the elbow strike to the first clone.

"But…what about the clone that was drawing up the seal?"

Kushina grinned as she picked up the paper that her clone was drawing on. If it was even possible, her grin got even wider when she saw Mikoto's incredulous face. Her clone had drawn a very detailed fox leaping out of water on the paper.

"In your face Mikoto-chan! I win!"

The Uchiha let a smile grace her face, "In what world?"

"Huh?"

Before Kushina's eyes, her friend bit her hard enough to draw blood and then vanished in a puff of smoke. The redhead's eyes widened just before she crossed her arms to block the kick that was aimed at her head. Quickly aiming to counter, Kushina threw a punch at her opponent, only for Mikoto to smoothly redirect the blow downward. Getting a knee to the gut for her troubles, Kushina jumped back to assess her situation…while trying to ignore the need to hold her stomach.

'Mikoto's really not softening her blows,' Kushina observed. 'I'm going to have to up my intensity.'

Dashing towards Mikoto, she began to ferociously attack her with a flurry of punches and kicks. To her dismay, the Uchiha managed to block and effectively counter-attack each time. Now on the defensive, she could only just block any blows Mikoto threw at her. Kushina lashed out with a kick, only to hit the log Mikoto substituted herself with. Quickly making a thick chain from her wrist, she grabbed it and swung behind her. Turning as she did so, she saw her chain wrap around Mikoto's waist.

"Get over here, -ttebane!" Grinning victoriously, Kushina gave the chain a mighty tug, which pulled her opponent close to her. Drawing a fist back, she channeled chakra to her fist while forcibly dispelling her chain. "Gotcha now!"

With Mikoto's momentum keeping her moving, Kushina punched her in the gut. Working with the chakra she channeled to her fist, the redhead simply pushed it from the tenketsu in her fist out to the point of impact. While this helped stop any leftover momentum, it also assisted Kushina in forcing her opponent further away from her fist once she finished her punch. And that's precisely what she did. Mikoto's body flew across their sparring field and hit the trunk of a tree, cracking it on impact.

"Oh shit!" Kushina yelled after seeing the effect of her punch. "Mikoto-chan! You okay?" Seeing the weak thumbs up her friend gave allowed her to sigh in relief. "Oh thank goodness. I thought I killed you or something."

"As if," Mikoto started as she began to stand up, "something like that could kill me."

"Good…then let us continue."

The two then dashed toward each other, Sharingan and chains at the ready.

XxX

A blond spiky haired boy sporting three whisker marks on his cheeks, and wearing a black shirt and orange shorts, ran down the streets with a bag in hand. Taking all of the necessary turns, the boy found himself at the door of his home. Opening the door he peeked inside. The sunlight from outside cast shadows on everything in the house that wasn't in the door's rectangle of light.

"Kaa-chan! You in here?" the boy asked.

"Behind you," a whisper replied.

The boy jumped through the open doorway, and into his house, a stick of celery in hand. He then blinked and relaxed. Though she may have had dried blood caking her face, arms, and chest, it was only his mom.

"Kaa-chan…what happened to you?"

"Ninja stuff Naruto-chan," she replied.

"Kaa-chan!" he shouted indignantly. "Please don't call me that!"

She smiled, "Fine then. Naru-chan."

Naruto calmly set down the bag, and then leapt at his mother. Any assault he had planned was halted by a chain that wrapped around him.

"Eh...Kaa-chan, lemme go," he requested after his attempts to break free were proven futile.

"No, I don't think I will," she told him. "I think I'll hold my little Naru-chan for a little while longer."

Naruto was really tempted to try and bite his mom, but she would just place a restraining seal on him and get him to bed. The blond instead opted to pout at his mother, hoping that his jutted lip would have her let him go.

"That won't work…your father did the same thing when he wanted something," she informed. "It only worked 2 of the 100 times he tried it."

"Please lemme go," he begged. "I wanna get clean."

Kushina thought about it for a few seconds then relented. After Naruto's feet touched the ground, he hugged her and looked her in the eyes.

"Are you okay, Kaa-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"The blood. Did some bad guy hurt you?"

His mother smiled at him, "No, Mikoto-chan and I were just sparring….intensely."

"Oh."

Naruto didn't know what 'intensely' meant. But they must have been fighting each other very hard to have blood spilt. He let go of his mom, and then raced to his room. He did have something to prepare for after all.

"Make sure you wear nice clothes!"

XxX

When he came down wearing orange pants and a black shirt his mother told him to change. When he came down wearing the same pants with a blue shirt, she told him to change. When he came down wearing all orange, she told him to change. WHAT DID SHE WANT FROM HIM?

"Kaa-chan! What do you want from me?!"

"Change into the nice kimono I bought for you!"

"But I don't like kimonos!"

"Too bad! Put it on, or everything you get will be confiscated!"

Kushina sat in the silence of the home for a few minutes, as she cleaned the blood off her arms and face. It just wouldn't do to have everyone looking at her bloody face when the attention should be on her son. …But it would be fun to do any other time.

Speaking of her son, "Naruto, you better be changed or I will come up there!"

"I'm coming, I'm coming." The sound of footsteps accompanied his sentence and then he was there. "…I really hate kimonos." He wore an orange kimono with white trim, and a white obi tied around his waist. His face showed all the loathe he had for it, "Are you sure I have to wear this?"

Kushina looked him over, her red hair swaying side to side as she did so. She narrowed her eyes, nodded and shook her head.

"Too formal. Just wear something simple."

Naruto let out a sound that was a mix of a cheer and a groan, "Kaa-chan!"

"I love you, Naru-chan!" she sang out as she went to her own room.

XxX

"I still don't understand why this is happening at the Uchiha Clan district Kaa-chan," Naruto told her, now dressed in orange pants and a black shirt.

"It's not," she told him. "We're just going here to invite Mikoto-chan and her family."

"Oh," the boy said…just before he realized what his mom said. "Wait, you didn't invite anybody!?"

At this Kushina had to blush, "…No."

"Kaa-chan!"

"I forgot, okay!"

"No! Not okay! How could you forget your son's birthday!?"

"Dunno," she shrugged. "How about I just get you some ramen after we get Mikoto-chan, huh?"

"…Fine," her son told her as he crossed his arms, "but don't think that I'll forgive you for this, -ttebayo!"

"Mmm, I wonder about that…"

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Oh nothing," she singsonged before skipping toward the Uchiha compound. "Now let's get moving, -ttebane!"

Naruto watched her go, shaking his head as he did so. His mother was crazy…that had to be it.

XxX

Naruto's 'crazy mom theory' was proving to be more and more correct with each passing minute. When no one answered Mikoto's door, she went to the back and broke in! And she left him outside! She was so getting punched when she got out of the house!

Almost as if on cue, the front door opened and his mom exited the building from it. She half-heartedly blocked the punch her son tried to hit her with, and gave him a small smile.

"Sorry Naru-chan, looks like nobody's home."

"EH!? Whadda mean?!" the boy yelled.

"I mean that I checked the entire house. Nobody's there." Seeing Naruto slouch in defeat, she had to giggle. "Don't worry Naru-chan. We'll just get to Ichiraku's and see if they want to come over."

"Really?"

"Yeah! They'd love to come to your party…that I didn't forget about."

"Kaa-chan!" Naruto yelled.

XxX

Another closed area….another disappointment. This was really bumming the Uzumakis out. Specifically Naruto, as the boy was really hoping to have some ramen to cheer his day up.

"Dang this is rough, Naru-chan. I'm really sorry," she told him as she rubbed his head in an attempt to get him out of his funk.

The boy was still walking with his arms crossed and a pout on his face. It just wasn't fair. His mom forgot his birthday, and nobody was even around! Well…nobody important. The villagers either ignored him because of his tenant, or treated him with so much respect because they feared that his father would come back from the dead to haunt them to the end of their days. It was honestly annoying. He was a person too, he liked to be recognized for his own things.

…And that's why he would never invite them to his birthday parties.

"I just wanna go home now Kaa-chan…" he muttered, the disappointment oozing into his voice.

Kushina gave him a sad glance. This wasn't the birthday her son was expecting, this she knew, but she hadn't expected it to hit him so hard. …Perhaps having only Sasuke as a kinda, sorta friend was bad. Hopefully he'd make friends at the Academy.

"Come on little guy…let's get you home."

And with that, the Uzumakis began the trek home. One looking worried, the other sad.

XxX

"Naru-chan are you sure you don't wanna go anywhere else?"

"No...Just get me home…"

The two continued their walk in very uncomfortable silence. Kushina just couldn't find anything else to say. She had failed the most important duty a mother should never even think about doing. Forgetting their child's birthday. Give her the award for worst mother ever because she certainly felt like she deserved it.

Sighing, she opened the door to their house, and turned on the lights. As she let Naruto inside, two things happened. One, a sign with the words 'Happy Birthday!' unfurled and hung across their ceiling. Two, several people appeared in the house.

"Surprise Naruto!" the group yelled.

"Gah!" the boy yelled as he fell to the floor in…surprise. As he turned toward the door to see his mom's reaction, he gasped as all he saw a small plume of smoke dissipating. "Kaa-chan!"

"What?" Kushina asked as she came out of the kitchen with a confused expression. The cake she just finished decorating was in her hands. "I'm right here. Just like I have been since you left."

"Wha? How?!"

"_Kage Bunshin_," she answered with a shrug.

Before the boy could talk back, the group of guests clamored around him, lifted him up, and sat him in a chair. He didn't resist in the slightest. Moments after, the cake was set in front of him by his smiling mother. 6 candles were lit and slowly melting the wax, as everyone began singing. The terrible out of pitch singing only last a few seconds, to Naruto's relief.

"Blow out the candles and make a wish Naru-chan!"

The boy nodded enthusiastically, and then closed his eyes. 'I wish to be Hokage, then people would know that I'm my own person! Not someone to ignore because of the Kyuubi, or someone to be afraid of just because of my parents. I want people to respect me as myself, Uzumaki Naruto. '

With his wish complete, Naruto took a deep breath and blew out the candles. As his little group of guests cheered, the door to the house was kicked open with smoke filling the room.

"Ladies, prepare yourselves for a man who will blow your wildest imaginations! A man who makes every other man feel inadequate in every sense! A man whose name is moaned by the mouths of every woman he meets, and whose name strikes fear into the heart of his enemies! I am the Toad Sage who has trained on Mount Myoboku! Behold, the great Jiraiya-sama!"

The smoke cleared to reveal a white-hair man in a crouched position, one hand held behind his head with the other hand outstretched in front of his body. He wore a green kimono shirt with matching pants. Hand guards went over the mesh armor that showed out of the sleeves of the shirt, and a red haori, with two yellow circles on each side, went over said shirt. Geta sandals went on his feet, a simple belt at his waist and a horned headband with the kanji for 'oil' was on his forehead. If one looked toward the corner near the door, they would notice a big scroll set there.

"Well, well Jiraiya. Your entrances seem to differ slightly with where you visit," another voice commented as they walked through the door. Anyone who knew the voice could easily tell that it was the Sandaime, but they were confused. Why would he come to Naruto's birthday? "I hope we haven't missed much?" he asked as he walked through the door.

"Not at all!" Kushina informed the two with a smile. "Naru-chan just blew out the candles."

"Ne, Kaa-chan. Who's the crazy white haired one?" Naruto asked with a not too quiet whisper.

Ignoring the looks of confusion from Jiraiya and the Sandaime, Kushina leaned closer and whispered back, "You mean the Sandaime or Jiraiya-sensei?"

"Jiraiya-_sensei_?"

"Yeah, he taught your Tou-san."

"H-he did?"

She smiled, "And he's your godfather."

"EH!?" the boy turned towards Jiraiya with a look of surprise. That look soon morphed into one of happiness. "You owe me like 6 birthday gifts!"

As the little group laughed, Kushina was confused. Heck if she had a godparent that missed out on 6 birthdays, she would have torn into them.

"Naru-chan, you don't even wanna hurt him or something?" she asked.

"Of course I do," he replied with a smile on his face. "But birthdays shouldn't have pain involved! They should be wonderful, and happy!"

"Well look that that Kushina-chan," Jiraiya started as he walked over to Naruto, "Your son is much more easy-going than you are." The man then fell to the ground in pain when Naruto's fist impacted against his junk. "Why?" he whimpered.

"Nobody makes fun of my Kaa-chan but me, -ttebayo!" the boy stated.

The boy then yelped in pain as Kushina 'lightly' bopped him on the head, "Now Naru-chan…while I'm happy for you defending me, we must move on to you getting your presents. Otherwise, I may have to resort to _violent_ punishments, -ttebane…"

As Naruto laughed to hide his fear, the small group of guests began presenting gifts to the birthday boy. First came Mikoto and her husband Fugaku, the patriarch of the Uchiha Clan. The man stood beside his wife as she handed Naruto her gift, a small wrapped box.

Naruto unwrapped it as gently as he could, in other words tearing the wrapping paper off, and took off the lid on the box. Inside was a necklace with a silver, circle-like pendant. On the circle were three tomoe, positioned just as they would be on a Sharingan, and in the middle with three small bars holding it in place was a dot.

"It's a special necklace, Naruto. These are only handed to those we trust, and want to protect. Wear it, knowing that you have the Uchiha Clan as a close ally," Fugaku told the boy.

Naruto nodded and immediately put it on, the silver sticking out against the black of his shirt. Next came Sasuke and his older brother Itachi. The two handed him a slip of paper. To others it wouldn't be much, but to Naruto this was something to be remembered forever.

"70% off of next 10 bowls of any size at Ichiraku's?!" the boy asked rather loudly. He then gathered the two in a big hug. "Aw, thanks you guys!"

He continued to hold the two like this until Kushina cleared her throat, causing Naruto to let go of the Uchiha. The two Uchiha shifted awkwardly for a mere second before moving next to their parents. After them came the two Ichirakus, Ayame and Teuchi, both still in their work clothing. The pair handed him a wrapped bundle, which he proceeded to open.

Inside lay a sleeveless orange hoodie with white drawstrings. On the back, the ever present Uzumaki swirl was sewn right in the middle. Naruto held the hoodie in his hands rather fondly, and then quickly put it on.

"Thanks…I love it," the blond told the two, tears threatening to spill from the corners of his eyes.

The two nodded and then went over to Kushina. After some quick chatter, Kushina allowed them to leave without much of a hassle. Running one of the best ramen stands in Konoha required a great work ethic, after all.

After the Ichirakus left, the Sandaime walked up to him, papers in hand, "I know it may not be clothes, a discount coupon, or a special necklace. But it is something." He showed Naruto the papers. "These are your Academy entrance papers Naruto. Once you fill these out and return them to me, I'll allow you entrance into Konoha's Shinobi Academy. Of course in order to actually stay you will have to take a test to see if you're caught up to the others in your grade." The Sandaime then handed Naruto the papers with a scerene smile on his face. "If you're up to speed, you'll join the class as a late arrival. If not, you won't be allowed into the academy until the start of another year."

Naruto looked up at the man, unsure of how to feel. He was grateful that the Sandaime was giving him this chance, but he was also confused about the test. What would they test him on? When would they test him? Why was he even being allowed this chance?

"Not to worry Naru-chan! I'll help you study, -ttebane!" Kushina proclaimed, giving her son a thumbs up.

The Sandaime silent walked up to her as Naruto conversed with Sasuke and Itachi, showing them his papers.

"Kushina, I'll need to see you in my office tomorrow to discuss some things," the man told her. "Is that alright with you?"

She turned her head to face him, "Ah…okay." She then held up a plate, a cut piece of cake on it. "Want cake? I baked it myself."

"I would love some," the elder man told her as he took the plate.

As Kushina handed everyone cake, Naruto took the gifts that he wasn't wearing and put them away in his room. Once he did so and returned, he was given his piece of cake as he sat down at the table. Just as Naruto began eating his piece of cake, Sasuke sat next to him with his plate.

"Hey Naruto, you think you're going to get in?"

"Are you kidding?" the blond asked with a grin, fully displaying bits of cake that were on his teeth. "With my Kaa-chan helping me study, I'm a shoe in!"

"How do you think the other kids will treat you? Not all of them are like me," Sasuke informed.

"Well duh. I hope all of them aren't like you. You're a real stick in the mud sometimes!"

Sasuke resisted the urge to hit the birthday boy on the head, just like he did every time Naruto said something that seemed insulting or dumb.

"Plus you have that hair! Reminds me of a duck's butt, -ttebayo!"

…This was going to give Sasuke an ulcer when he hit 25, he just knew it. Once he found out what an ulcer was of course.

"Oi! Naru-chan! Come talk to Jiraiya-sensei!" Kushina shouted from across the room.

"I'm on my way!"

XxX

The rest of the night continued as before, without a hitch. It wasn't long before the Sandaime excused himself from the home, offering best wishes to Naruto as he left. The Uchiha left soon afterward. Jiraiya told Naruto stories about his father that were both true and untrue, laughing whenever Naruto bought them all.

Soon, it was time for Naruto to go to bed, and Kushina as well. She did have a meeting with the Hokage in the morning and she'd rather look the best a Kunoichi should be. Jiraiya ended up in the small guest room the house had, and soon all were prepared for bed.

After wishing Naruto a night full of good dreams, Kushina left to her room and promptly plopped herself onto her bed. After getting in bed properly, she relaxed and closed her eyes.

She didn't know of the things awaiting her in her slumber.

XxX

Naruto woke up. He didn't know why either. It wasn't until he got out of bed that he realized that he had to use the restroom. Grumbling to himself, he left for said room to take care of business.

He walked into the room, did his business, flushed it down and washed his hands. As he walked past his mom's room he heard noises. Not the normal kind of rustling noises, but the kind that made someone worry. The fast kind of rustling.

Naruto opened the door, and bore witness to his mother twisting and turning in her bed. Worried, he quickly walked to her bed.

XxX

She was in Konoha, but it wasn't Konoha. The sky was a blood red, but the buildings looked normal enough if you could ignore the red tint they had. She was tied to a wooden pole, in her regular everyday outfit smack dab in the middle of the village. In front of her was an ANBU member, wearing a blank mask and a cloak. In the ANBU's hand was a kunai, dripping with the blood from a long cut on her arm. The cut was one of many that were visible to the eye.

Her chains and jutsu weren't usable, this she found out a little while ago when she tried to use them to free herself from the pole. The ANBU pulled their arm back, and Kushina braced herself for another cut or gash. So she was confused when the kunai cut her bonds instead of her skin.

Making a fist, she attempted to punch the ANBU in front of her. This failed as the ANBU simply used Shunshin and escaped retribution. When the masked individual didn't reappear, Kushina began to look for a way out. She spotted the village gates, the wonderful normal looking gates and ran for them. After all, if it was different from the rest of this Not-Konoha it had to be good.

As she ran past buildings, she looked through the windows to see if anyone was around, Kushina became puzzled at her perspective. At every building it seemed like she had to either look up to see the windows, or just look straight at them. It took her only a few buildings to realize what was going on.

She was going through the different stages of growth she'd gone through so far. And it wasn't in a particular order. It went from her first day at the Konoha Shinobi Academy to her current appearance, her genin years to the jounin. The order was random and it worried her. Would the gate take longer to reach in her child form or would it be the same?

In the corner of her eye, she spotted a massive furry, red-orange tail peeking out of an alley way. Wait…red-orange?

"Oh hell no," Kushina muttered as the tail slid back into the shadows.

Continuing to run, not even caring about her changing, Kushina spotted three other tails that all began to disappear once she saw them. After seeing a 5th tail, Kushina realized that she wasn't getting any closer to the gates. In fact, she seemed to be farther back than she was before.

Shortly after coming to this realization, she heard the sound of a thousand chirping birds and turned around. A hand went through her chest and out the other side. It was the ANBU, sans cloak, that had impaled her, the blank mask creeping the hell out of Kushina more than anything. It was then that she noticed the ANBU's hair. The spiky silver hair.

'No…no…'

"Kakashi?" she asked before she coughed up blood.

The ANBU removed the mask to indeed reveal the deceased teenager, his own eye dead while his Sharingan eye spun. Kakashi then lowered his face mask with his free hand to reveal a vulpine grin, complete with sharp teeth, which seemed really out of place. Then he began to change.

Both his eyes turned red, with the pupils becoming slits, as red-orange fur started to grow on his face. His mouth elongated, he grew larger, and nine tails emerged from his tailbone. Fur soon surrounded his entire body as his ears morphed into those of a fox. Bone snapped and reshaped themselves as he grew larger still and the arm in her chest morphed into a claw. When the horrifying transformation was done with, Kushina stood in front of the Kyuubi, impaled on its claw.

Still holding the grin it had as Kakashi, it lifted Kushina to eye level with the claw in her chest. Kushina ignored her fear, and the blood dribbling out of her mouth, to glare defiantly at the bijuu.

"Soon," it stated maliciously.

Red bubbles soon clouded her vision, and she screamed as she felt a fire ignite her insides.

XxX

Kushina gasped as she sat up in her bed, clammy from her nightmare. Breathing heavily, she looked around before she saw Naruto near her bed, looking scared and worried.

"Naruto…what's wrong?" she asked.

"K-Kaa-chan…you looked like you were having a nightmare so I tried to wake you up," he replied. "…Kaa-chan your eyes are red."

Kushina simply nodded and then drew her son close for a hug. Tightening her grip, she began sobbing. For Naruto, who had never seen his mother cry, this was an eye-opener for the six year old. He'd always thought that his mother never felt fear, that she was an indomitable wall of positivity. Yet, here she was, crying out of fear, for that what was on her face when she woke up. Fear, an immense fear had been plastered on her face, and then in a moment of weakness, she broke down.

Naruto didn't know what had scared her so much that it made her cry, but as he hugged his mom, he wanted to hit whatever it was. If it would help his mom stop crying, he would beat the thing down until it couldn't scare her anymore. That was a promise.

And Uzumaki Naruto never went back on a promise.

XxX

Kushina stood in front of the Hokage in full jounin attire. After her breakdown in the middle of the night, she fell asleep, Naruto sleeping with her for comfort. When Kushina was ready to leave, Naruto hugged her and wished her luck as she left him in the care of Jiraiya for the day.

"Now Kushina, I've asked you here so that I can assign you a mission to help you back into your duties."

"A mission? What rank?" she asked.

The elder man smiled, "I know I've had you do a few D-ranks, with the occasional C-rank, over these past 5 years. I've decided to give you a B-rank."

Kushina blinked and inwardly cheered. Those D and C-ranks were so dull that Kushina felt like her soul was slowly dying. A B-rank was just the thing to cheer her up.

"How long?"

"Just a month out of the village," he replied.

"A month Hokage-sama? Who will take care of my Naru-chan while I'm gone?"

"I've arranged for Jiraiya to take him to Mikoto, with the request that she take care of him while you are away."

Kushina thought about it for a few moments and then nodded.

"I'll accept the mission," she told him.

The Hokage smiled and then tossed her the mission scroll, "All of the details are in that scroll. Follow the instructions to the letter and things should go smoothly."

Catching the scroll she then bowed, "Hai, Hokage-sama."

Kushina stood and began to walk out of the office. After exiting the office, she took to the rooftops with a look of concentration that soon gave way to a smile.

After all these years…

"The Bloody Habanero is back, -ttebane!"

* * *

><p><strong>And there you go! Kushina's off on a mission and Naruto is about to study hardcore at the Uchiha compound. Ah study...speaking of, I've got finals coming up so that means the semester's almost over! More time for myself!<strong>

**Stop reading here if you want to avoid spoilers, or my little rant. Really sorry in advance, but I just can't hold it back any longer.**

**Also...chapter 700 of Naruto...I'm sorry, but I've got to say this. I can put up with having Kaguya abruptly show up. I can deal with Sasuke's reasoning for a revolution. Hell, that final fight between Naruto and Sasuke was pretty good. But I just can't deal with the bullshit that chapter 700 gave me. **

**Naruto and Hinata, despite having a total of like 8 minutes of screen time together, somehow end up married with kids. As a closet NaruHina shipper, I was a little pleased. Disappointed at the same time though. A single movie to tie 699 and 700 together doesn't make up for all the years you had to make that romance blossom Kishimoto! Filler doesn't count either!  
><strong>

**How could Sakura still love Sasuke when he tried to kill her, straight up rejected all her advances, and called her worthless? She had good character development and it all went down the toilet during the Kage Summit Arc. I persevered, though, in hopes that Sakura would see reason and move on to the one guy who had always been there. The guy that promised to bring Sasuke back. The guy that trained for 2-3 years for that promise. The guy that fucking LOST AN ARM just to bring Sasuke back. You know, the blond haired guy that actually loved her? Nope. Instead, she decides that going for the guy that nearly killed her would the perfect choice for her after he just apologized for it. Like what the hell? What's that supposed to teach the young boys that read Naruto? That they can be jerks all their life, but if they apologize to the girl they gave the most shit to, they're all good? What about what the girls that read it? They should ignore the guy that actually likes them in favor of the jerk? All the young minds that can be influenced by this ending...  
><strong>

**But really we all know that Kishimoto did that to appease all the NaruHina and SasuSaku shippers. So thank all of them for this ending, as they probably would have tracked down Kishi's home and burned it to the ground had it not happened this way.**

**InoSai was kinda okay with. Chouji and Karui though? Uh-uh. Nope. Never. Don't even want to know HOW that happened. **

**Gaara's hair, why! It looks terrible! Kankuro looks like a creeper! How the hell is the Tsuchikage still alive?! Why does Salada look like Karin with black hair?! Why is Sakura a housewife?! WHY THE HELL IS TENTEN RUNNING A WEAPON SHOP DURING THESE PEACEFUL TIMES? Who is the mother to Lee's kid?! ...Better not be Tenten.**

**Why do Naruto's kids have whisker marks when they weren't exposed to Kurama's chakra at all during Hinata's pregnancies? Why do the kids NOT have the Byakugan? Isn't that a Kekkei Genkai?**

**The only thing I actually fully approved of was Naruto being the Hokage. Even though we all know that Tsunade could have held onto the hat so that Naruto could have actually been the Rokudaime he deserved to be, instead of Kakashi, who expressed his not wanting the title Hokage toward the end of Kage Summit Arc. Naruto the Nanadaime Hokage doesn't nearly as cool as Naruto the Rokudaime Hokage..**

**Ugh, sorry about that. Had to get that off my chest. At least we all learned something from the final chapter of Naruto. How to write an ending that pleases the masses rather than yourself.**

**Well, if you made it through the rant, congratulations. Sorry you had to read that. It should never happen again from me. Hope the rant didn't dissuade you from enjoying the chapter.**

**Till next time guys!**


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